Chapter 151: Chapter 18, Episode 12: The Returning Battle
It was the sound of a T-34 crossing the valley and entering the forest. It was the b*stard who was launching armor-piercing shells, unable to differentiate between s*** or piss.
“What the hell? For display! Ha, this lackey’s been fooling me.”
The killing range of a 76.2 mm HE shell for horses was within 30 meters. If the tank shot at long-range and machine guns at close-range, he didn’t have a way out.
The adults kept talking about the fearful presence of a North-Korean tank during 6.25 several times. He received a tank countering training from Legion Etranger, but he was still nervous.
The specs of the T-34 that Sun WooHyun had reported ran through his head. Four boarding, 76.2 mm main battery, two 7.62 mm DT machine guns, a commander on the cupola, a 79 mm thick front plate, and a 17 mm head plate.
He had heard the American navy shoved grenades up the T-34 aim barrel during the 6.25 war, but those were just the Yankee’s bluffs. A juice can wouldn’t be able to enter a T-34’s aim barrel. Perhaps if they hammered the grenade in, it could.
There was another American soldier who had claimed he shoved an M1 into the aim barrel and shot a whole clip worth eight rounds, killing the driver and gunner. That was impossible. The front of the tank shook too hard to gain footing.
There was a record that stated the hatch was drummed with a hammer to shove in the grenade. However, that was also impossible. A T-34 hatch was like a manhole on the road. Even if the Soviet’s metal wielding skills were horrible, it wasn’t so weak as to be broken by a hammer.
He recalled some of the weaknesses of the T-34. Its aiming device was off, lowering the tank’s precision. It couldn’t even procure the surrounding view as it was equipped with a two-seat cupola. There were a few blindsight as the vision was slit and the periscope was weak. It also had slow engagement speeds.
“In that case, it’s just a big metal can. Hehe, they must be out of their minds to drag a tank into a forest with limited sight.”
He’d forgotten about his physical abilities. They were fast to recharge, but he should avoid them while the muzzle was still turning.
The tank would’ve been the grim reaper for normal foot soldiers, but he wasn’t an average soldier. He was someone who forwent his pros and fought with his cons. He was more than overjoyed to greet something that offered itself as a sacrifice in close-range.
Rustle—
Black Mamba jumped up the acacia tree. He jumped off another branch and hid on another branch 20 meters high.
Krrr—
The tank rolled beneath him with a strange sound. The smoke that came out of its low-quality engine resembled a smokescreen. He pitied the commander who was busy looking around atop the cupola.
“He’s trying to get himself killed.”
The b*stard’s confidence was rather high when he could be killed with a few hand movements. The rear foot soldiers followed them in groups of ten, in distances of 10 to 20 meters. He was suddenly conflicted.
There was no way the tank’s machine gun would sit by while he took care of the soldiers. Attacking the tank would cause the barrage to land on the soldiers. The soldiers were separated, front and back, making them harder to take care of.
“Here’s something good.”
He could hear buzzes despite the loud tank. He spotted a large beehive hanging between the front and rear soldiers on an acacia tree.
Tap—
Empty Pamus magazines shot out from Black Mamba’s hand like arrows and sliced the beehive stalk.
Crack—
The beehive landed on the guerrilla’s head.
African hornets were known to be fierce.
Buzzzzz—
Countless of angered hornets streamed out from the beehive.
“Ahh, tebor, tebor!”[1]
“Ib-taid, bishu-roo-ah!”[2]
“Ib-taid, ib-taid!”[3]
Chaos occurred. The fight between humans and hornets began. His burdens decreased as the hornets got rid of the rear soldiers.
Creek—
A crack echoed throughout the forest as the advancing tank came to a stop. He couldn’t hear due to the sound, but the commander had probably seen what was going on behind him with the periscope.
Abbas turned his head. He couldn’t see the rear properly, as his sight was blocked by black smoke.
“What are they doing?”
Black Mamba kicked off the branch and flew when Abbas turned his head. After turning once in the air, the war’s nightmare landed stably on the tank like a feather.
Sensing something, the commander turned back around.
“What?”
Instead of an answer, a hand as strong as steel gripped the commander’s neck.
“Kuk!”
A belch escaped the commander’s throttled neck.
“Huh, I’ve seen you before.”
He’d seen the commander’s face before. He remembered something from the huge scar on his forehead. It was the lieutenant colonel he saw in front of the cafeteria tent.
“Are you lieutenant colonel Abbas?”
Abbas’ eyes widened as though he was hit by lightning.
“Ka, Kanma, kek, kugh.”
Black Mamba relaxed his hand slightly.
“Allah, until when will you leave the Kanma in his rampage?”
“What is this b*stard saying? You’re Abbas, right?”
“Kanma, Allah’s curse will be upon you.”
Abbas didn’t know what he was saying amid his fear.
“Stop bullsh**ing. Allah’s busy cleaning up the mess you b*stards left behind. Why would someone so busy look for me, don’t you think?”
They were b*stards who looked for God after committing all kinds of atrocities. A red light rose in Black Mamba’s eyes. It was the sign of blood lust.
“You annoying b*stard.”
Cra-ack—
Abbas had broken his neck and went into a seizure.
“Damn it. He can’t reply any more.”
Black Mamba raised his hand as he grasped around Abbas’ neck. Abbas was pulled out of the cupola like radish. When he flung his hand, the corpse landed on the ground in an arc. His actions had been uncaring, as though he was shaking off a flint on his hand.
It was the meaningless end of FROLINAT’s north-eastern commander, Abbas. They were b*stards who pushed young boys to the front line drugged, to be their bullet shields. The thought of them being the worst humans alive had been deeply rooted in Black Mamba’s head.
Black Mamba tapped a grenade in the cupola without looking back at Abbas, who became plastered.
“I heard those young soldiers did this during 6.25, will it work?”
Nothing was impossible.
Bang—
The entire tank shook. All that was left was for the people inside to become roasted meat, as the grenade went off in a small cabin. The pressure of the rising gas gathered around the top hatch, looking for an escape. Black and red fire and shards exploded out. The smell of blood was mixed with the stifling scent of smoke.
Black Mamba’s mouth rose at the sight of the tank’s rear. Two to three guerrillas had received concentrated attacks from the hornets, and collapsed on the ground. Some had run away, while others were swirling clothes they’d set on fire. Over half of the 20 who’d been shot by the hornets were resisting.
His Pamus began to spout fire.
“Agh! It’s the Kanma!”
“Hide!”
The guerrillas who were looking for cover from the hornets were wiped out cleanly in a flash. The soldiers who were following the rear group’s tail were erased without a chance to resist.
“Seems like there’s a use for hornets too. Eep!”
Black Mamba slid around the other side of the tank like a lizard.
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
The bullets bounced off the tank like peas.
“There he is!”
A group of soldiers rushed out.
“Idiots, you should pull the trigger before shouting.”
Pa pa pa—
The Pamus spewed fire.
When the leading guerrillas started collapsing, the following guerrillas turned and ran.
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
Dry gunshots rang out. Blood spurted out of the backs of the guerrillas.
“You damned swines, how dare you servants of Allah turn your back!”
The commander fired his gun at the running soldiers without mercy.
“Agh!”
A wooden stick pierced the commander’s eye.
“You’re the swine. You son of a b****. Live in torment before you die.”
Black Mamba added another spike to the commander’s stomach in anger.
Vrrm—
The second tank suddenly appeared on top of the hill after crossing the wadi.
Tutatatata—
Clang clang clang clang—
The DT machine gun spewed fire.
“Darn!”
Surprised, Black Mamba leaped off the tank and hid his body in the caterpillar.
Criiik—
The tank stopped with a sharp creak. Its turret turned. Something with a zing pressed against his temple. He was the target.
“That heartless b*stard!”
Black Mamba kicked the tank’s caterpillar away and threw his body.
Bang—
It was on aim. The smoking cupola was blown off in its entirety. It was said to have a helpless aim, but that wasn’t so. The rubble and aftershock swirled violently. It was a high-explosive grenade. It seemed as though the idiots finally learned how to differentiate their shells.
Black Mamba used his fearless steps to flee. Leaves and dust rose around his feet, which ran like the wind.
Grrrrr—
The piercing sound of a tank gearing up rang throughout the forest.
Tutatatata—
The bullets pouring out of the two DT machine guns went after him.
Fragments of rocks and trees leaped off the ground. Black Mamba’s body jumped from side to side like a popping kernel. It was the heights of shadow steps.
Criiiik—
Crash—
Another field artillery fired. Considering how it was loaded manually, its speed had been fast.
Cr-ash—
The shell that swept past Black Mamba landed on a slope 40 meters away. Rocks and dust rose into the air thickly. Black Mamba had already disappeared, turning his direction to another angle.
Grrrrr—
The tank turned abruptly and chased after Black Mamba. The gunshots stopped.
“What can you do with a 48 round Degtyarev!”
Black Mamba laughed as he ran. The T-34’s first machine gun model made in ’41 was a Degtyarev armed with a drum magazine. The tank violently crushed some trees as though it heard Black Mamba’s mocking laughter.
Tank number two began its march of anger after losing sight of Kanma and breaking its ally’s tank.
Craaack snap—
The sound of trees—which had withstood a drought—being cracked was heard unendingly.
They were determined but had chosen a bad opponent. The gunner and loader who had changed the magazine searched to the best of their abilities, but the target had long left their periscope’s sight.
Moving 200 meters instantly, Black Mamba plastered himself against the back of a sedimentary rock like a lizard.
“Those s***s can’t respect elders!”
The T-34 was produced in 1941, making it a 40 years old antique. It was, in a sentence, the grandfather of all tanks. It felt like cheating to be moving so normally.
The antique tank itself wasn’t a threat, but it became an annoying presence when mixed with soldiers. It’d be like giving the enemy a chance to commit a joint attack if he gave them time to fight their way out of shock. He decided to get rid of everything before the soldiers gathered.
The gun barrel twirled. They intended to shoot randomly at places which could work as a cover.
Crash—
Dombrey forest shivered from the large crash.
The shell was wasted on a rock. Unfortunately, the T-34 didn’t have a communication device or video equipment. The periscope’s sight was also small. There was no way to analyze Black Mamba’s movement.
Crash—
Crash—
The tank continued to launch shells. It was determined to get rid of anything suspicious. Sometimes, a stray shell was scarier than the gunner. One shell landed on a concealing rock.
Black Mamba slung his body into the air with the dragon’s back riding steps using a branch, and he continued upwards with the four paced movements.
Tutatatata—
The DT Machine gun spewed fire. A machine gun controlled by a gunner who had restricted sight was not a threat.
Black Mamba, who crossed over the air like a tiger, landed on the hatch like a butterfly. Black Mamba pulled the hatch’s handle with tremendous strength.
There was the breaking sound of a hinge from within, but it didn’t open easily. He sensed approaching guerrillas.
“There’s nothing a hedgehog can do about its eyes, I suppose.”
Crash—
A fist wrapped in resonance crashed down on the protruding periscope. It was a fist with more destructive powers than a hammer. The periscope’s hinge broke apart with a crack.
Crash—
The periscope rolled into the cabin at the second hit.
“It’s the Kanma!”
“Allah, please save your slave who’s sinned.”
Chatters of fear could be heard from within alongside the sound of a rolling grenade.
“Sorry.”
There wasn’t time to spare. He dropped the grenade and ran into the forest.
[1] “Ahh, hornets, hornets!”
[2] “Run, hurry!”
[3] “Run, run!”
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